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Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education Appoints First ExecutiveDirector

TORONTO, Dec. 16 /CNW/ - The Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) today announced that Dr. Catherine Chandler-Crichlow has been appointed Executive Director of the newly established Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education (COE), effective immediately.

Dr. Chandler-Crichlow has more than 30 years of talent development experience specializing in the areas of executive and leadership development; curriculum development and implementation; technology-mediated distance learning and program evaluation.

"The COE needs strong leadership - particularly now, in its early days," said TFSA President Janet Ecker. "We are delighted that we have recruited such a fine candidate to launch this initiative and bring focus to the talent needs of Toronto's financial services sector."

Establishing a centre of excellence in financial services education was a key recommendation of the TFSA's landmark report, "Talent Matters," which warned that a lack of critical talent will continue to grow unless steps are taken to attract, develop and retain people with specialized skills. The government of Ontario embraced the recommendation and pledged $4 million over three years to establish the centre.

The COE, which is intended to act as a catalyst for sector-wide collaboration, will:

- Act as a research and information aggregator;
- Facilitate exchanges between employers and educators to enhance the
focus and quality of educational offerings;
- Partner with others to help attract local and global talent to the
region.

"This is an exciting challenge for me," said Dr. Chandler-Crichlow. "I look forward to bringing together stakeholders from the financial services sector, government and the educational community to make the most of Toronto Region's 'people' advantage.

"Toronto has an international reputation for the quality of its workforce," she added. "The level of education, including specialized designations, the diversity of our community, and the sophistication of the businesses themselves - all of this provides us with comparative advantage, and the COE will help us maintain our leadership."

About Dr. Chandler-Crichlow

Catherine Chandler-Crichlow worked as an Associate Vice President - Education and Training at TD Bank Financial Group. She then served as an executive and leadership development advisor to a number of international agencies such as the Toronto International Leadership Centre for Financial Sector Supervision, an international financial sector development initiative funded by the Government of Canada, the World Bank and the IMF. She has overseen the design, development, delivery and evaluation of capacity building programs for financial sector supervisors in countries such as Brazil, Malaysia, Poland, Singapore and Trinidad and Tobago and also played a key role in the development of leadership programs for international financial sector supervisory associations. She also held curriculum advisory roles with educational and training institutions locally and internationally.

She has consulted to international agencies such as the World Bank, The Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago, and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Malaysia and has extensive experience in the private sector and advises leaders on organizational change and staff development. She has conducted high-level needs analyses for both industry sectors and large organizations for the development of integrated education and training curricula designed to meet the learning needs of diverse stakeholder groups.

Dr. Chandler-Crichlow holds a Doctorate in Education degree from the University of Toronto - Canada (Ontario Graduate Fellowship), a Masters in Education degree from Harvard University - USA (Fellowship from the Organization of American States - OAS) and a Diploma in Education as well as a Bachelor of Science degree (Honours) from the University of the West Indies - Trinidad and Tobago. She is an author on human capacity development and a frequent speaker on human capacity development at international conferences.

SOURCE Toronto Financial Services Alliance

For further information: For further information: Brian Smith, Tel. (416) 822-3130, bsmith@ircounsel.ca